Sports equipment drying rack

ABSTRACT

This disclosure relates to a drying rack for wet equipment constructed to support wet equipment having absorbent and non-absorbent sides. The drying rack supports the equipment such that absorbent sides of the wet equipment are generally oriented in a single windward direction relative to an external airflow source.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/154,857 filed on Oct. 9, 2018, which claims priority to United States Provisional Application No. 62/569,820, which was filed on Oct. 9, 2017 and is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

This disclosure relates to a sports equipment storage and drying rack, particularly for hockey equipment.

Many sports, including hockey, have associated protective equipment like pads and a helmet. Many articles of protective equipment have a hard plastic exterior with a padded foam or fabric interior. Protective equipment commonly gets wet during use because the padded interiors accumulate the wearer's sweat. Wet equipment is frequently dried evaporatively, which can be facilitated by air circulation near wet portions of the equipment.

Racks for drying and organizing protective equipment exist in multiple varieties. Drying racks are commonly designed to “wear” equipment similarly to a person, such that the padded sides are directed inward, contacting the rack. Such a rack may be placed near an external fan or other source of airflow. Other racks have internal passages for circulating a drying airflow from an integral source against the padded interiors of the equipment.

SUMMARY

This disclosure relates to a drying rack for wet equipment constructed to support wet equipment having absorbent and non-absorbent sides. The drying rack supports the equipment such that absorbent sides of the wet equipment are generally oriented in a single windward direction relative to an external airflow source.

These and other features may be best understood from the following drawings and specification.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings can be briefly described as follows:

FIG. 1 shows a drying rack.

FIG. 2 shows the drying rack loaded with sports equipment.

FIG. 3 schematically represents a drying rack loaded with sports equipment and arranged near an external air source.

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of part of the drying rack.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates a rack 10 for drying sports equipment according to a first embodiment. The rack 10 has an upper arm 20 extending in a substantially horizontal direction, supported by an upper beam 40 extending in a direction substantially perpendicular to the upper arm 20. Hooks 22, 24, 26, 28 are cut into the upper arm 20.

A back hook 45 is cut into to a back side of the upper beam 40, and a front hook 50 is cut into a front or windward side of the upper beam 40. A lower arm 44 extends in a horizontal or substantially horizontal direction, supports the upper beam 40, and is supported by a first lower beam 54 and a second lower beam 55. The lower arm 44 may have recesses 46, 47 on a windward side, each approximately aligned with one of the lower beams 54, 55.

The first lower beam 54 and second lower beam 55 both extend in a direction perpendicular to the lower arm 44. A first shelf 58 is attached to the first lower beam 54, and a second shelf 59 is attached to the second lower beam 55. Both shelves 58, 59 extend in a windward direction 96 that is perpendicular to the first and second lower beams 54, 55. Each of the shelves 58, 59 also includes a notch 61 near a respective windward end 63.

A first stop 65 and second stop 66 are slotted into the first lower beam 54 and second lower beam 55 respectively. The first stop 65 and second stop 66 extend toward each other and perpendicularly to the first and second lower beams 54, 55.

The first and second lower beams 54, 55 are both slotted into a foundation 67 extending perpendicularly to the first and second lower beams 54, 55. A pair of feet 60, 62 are slotted into the foundation 67 near respective opposite ends of the foundation 67. The feet 60, 62 extend perpendicularly to the foundation 67, thereby providing a stable base for the rack 10.

Several materials are suitable for constructing the rack 10, such as wood, plywood, or plastic. Moisture resistant materials are conducive to a durable and long lasting rack 10. As such, wood or plywood used to build the rack 10 could be treated or coated with a seal or moisture repellant. In another example, the rack 10 could be constructed from PVC or other plastic polymers.

FIG. 2 shows a loaded rack 70, comprising the rack 10 loaded with sports equipment. As with regard to the first embodiment, it should be understood that a loaded rack 70 may include different equipment and may have equipment arranged differently than exactly as depicted without departing from the scope of the disclosure. According to one example, the sports equipment can include a complete set of hockey pads supported to keep the equipment off of a floor.

Shoulder pads 81 hang from the upper arm 20. Elbow pads 72 hang from hooks 22, 24, 26, and 28. Gloves 76 rest on the lower arm 44. The lower arm 44 may have a slight forward or windward slope such that the gloves 76 when arranged as depicted, have fingertips raised above wrists to facilitate drainage by gravity. Pants 80 may hang from the back hook 45. A helmet 78 hangs from the front hook 50. Shin guards 82 sit on the first and second shelves 58, 59. The shin guards 82 may also rest in the recesses 46, 47 and notches 61. Additional garments such as shorts or a towel may hang from ends or corners of the upper arm 20 or any other available protrusion on the rack 10. Skates 86 may rest on the foundation 67 and hang from the stops 65, 66.

Most or all of the elbow pads 72, gloves 76, helmet 78, shoulder pads 81, shin guards 82, and skates 86, are arranged on rack 70 such that their interiors are oriented generally toward a front of the rack 70 in a windward direction 96.

FIG. 3 schematically represents the loaded rack 70 placed near an external airflow source 98, such as a fan. The equipment has hard plastic sides 92 and absorbent padded sides 94. As illustrated, the padded sides 94 of the equipment loaded on the rack 70 generally face in the windward direction 96 facing the airflow source 98. The loaded rack 70 is oriented such that its front side faces generally in a windward direction 96, toward the external airflow source 98. The construction of the rack 70 is such that even the absorbent material in the shoulder pads 81 hanging from the upper arm 20 are exposed to airflow from the airflow source 98. In this way, absorbent parts of the equipment on the loaded rack 70 is presented in the windward direction 96, which facilitates air circulation near the absorbent parts of the equipment. The air circulation near the absorbent parts of the material facilitates evaporative drying of the equipment.

The rack 10 according to the illustrated embodiment is constructed of several separable planks. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 4 , each of the second lower beam 55, second shelf 59, second stop 66, lower arm 44, and foundation 67 is a separable plank having joining slots 100. Each of the separable planks according to the illustrated embodiment adheres to a certain maximum width W and thickness T to enable stacking for storage and transport. The lower beams 54, 55 have openings 101 for receiving a plank 102 extending from a respective one of the first stop 65 and second stop 66. Only the second lower beam 55, second shelf 59, second stop 66, lower arm 44, and foundation 67 are illustrated with slots 100 in FIG. 4 , but the upper arm 20, upper beam 40, first lower beam 54, first shelf 58, and feet 60, 62 are similarly separable and have similar slots 100.

The slots 100 each match the thickness T to provide a close fit, which results in a sturdy construction that can be disassembled when necessary. Likewise, the openings 101 match dimensions of the planks 102 to provide a close fit. The elements slot together as suggested in FIG. 4 to provide the rack 10 in an assembled state as illustrated in FIG. 1 . The close fit between each element makes the assembled rack 10 or 70 able stand freely and support heavy equipment without any fasteners. The close fit may further prevent any part of the rack 10 from rotating significantly or at all relative to another part of the rack 10 when in the assembled state.

Although examples above have the specific components shown in the illustrations, embodiments of this disclosure are not limited to those particular combinations. It is possible to use some of the components or features from one of the examples in combination with features or components from another one of the examples.

Further, all illustrated proportions and relative directions are merely exemplary, and variations to each are contemplated. For example, any two elements illustrated and described above as perpendicular to one another may in practice be only approximately or generally perpendicular to one another.

One of ordinary skill in this art would understand that the above-described embodiments are exemplary and non-limiting. That is, modifications of this disclosure would come within the scope of the claims. For example, equipment may differ from the particular articles described above. Also, while the description above generally relates to hockey equipment, equipment for other sports is expressly contemplated. Accordingly, the following claims should be studied to determine their true scope and content. 

1-14. canceled
 15. A method of drying personal equipment, including: assembling a drying rack from a plurality of separable planks; arranging multiple articles of personal equipment on the drying rack such that absorbent material in each article is exposed in a windward direction; and providing an external airflow source in a location that is in the windward direction relative to the rack, wherein the external airflow source directs air toward the rack.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the multiple articles of personal equipment comprise a complete set of hockey pads.
 17. The method of claim 15, wherein some of the multiple articles of personal equipment include non-absorbent sides, and the arranging includes orienting the non-absorbent sides away from the windward direction. 18-19. (canceled)
 20. The method of claim 15, wherein the assembling includes interlocking the planks via a press fit.
 21. The method of claim 20, wherein at least two of the planks include a slot, and wherein the assembling includes interlocking the slots.
 22. The method of claim 21, wherein the planks each have a substantially equal thickness, and wherein the slots have a thickness substantially equal to the thickness of the planks.
 23. The method of claim 20, wherein at least one of the planks includes a through-hole opening, and wherein the assembling includes inserting a portion of another of the planks in the through-hole opening.
 24. The method of claim 15, wherein the plurality of separable planks comprise a foundation beam and pair of feet, and wherein the assembling includes interlocking the feet with the foundation beam such that the feet extend perpendicular to the foundation beam.
 25. The method of claim 24, wherein the plurality of separable planks further comprise at least one shelf, and wherein the assembling includes interlocking the at least one shelf with a vertically extending plank such that the at least one shelf is cantilevered and extends perpendicular to the foundation beam.
 26. The method of claim 25, wherein the arranging includes positioning one of the articles of personal equipment such that it sits on the at least one shelf and leans against the vertically extending plank.
 27. The method of claim 24, wherein the plurality of separable planks further comprise at least one stop, and wherein the assembling includes interlocking the at least one stop with a vertically extending plank such that the at least one stop is cantilevered and extends parallel to the foundation beam.
 28. The method of claim 27, wherein the arranging includes hanging at least one of the articles of personal equipment on the at least one stop.
 29. The method of claim 24, wherein: the plurality of separable planks further comprise a first lower beam, a second lower beam, and a lower arm; the assembling includes interlocking the first and second lower beams with the foundation beam such that the first and second lower beams extend vertically from the foundation beam; and the assembling includes interlocking the lower arm with the first and second lower beams such that the lower arm extends parallel to the foundation beam and is positioned vertically above the foundation beam.
 30. The method of claim 29, wherein the plurality of separable planks further comprise a first stop and a second stop, and wherein the assembling includes interlocking the first stop with the first lower beam and interlocking the second stop with the second lower beam such that the first and second stops are cantilevered and extend parallel to the foundation beam.
 31. The method of claim 30, wherein the assembling includes interlocking the first and second stops such that they extend towards one another.
 32. The method of claim 30, wherein the plurality of separable planks further comprise a first shelf and a second shelf, and wherein the assembling includes interlocking the first shelf with the first lower beam and interlocking the second shelf with the second lower beam such that the first and second shelves are cantilevered and extend perpendicular to the foundation beam.
 33. The method of claim 32, wherein the assembling includes interlocking the first and second shelves vertically above the first and second stops on the first and second lower beams, respectively.
 34. The method of claim 29, wherein: the plurality of separable planks further comprise an upper beam and an upper arm; the assembling includes interlocking the upper beam with the lower arm such that the upper beam extends vertically from the lower arm and is positioned horizontally between the first and second lower beams; and the assembling includes interlocking the upper arm with the upper beam such that the upper arm extends parallel to the lower arm and is positioned vertically above the lower arm.
 35. The method of claim 34, wherein the arranging includes hanging at least one of the articles of personal equipment on the upper arm.
 36. The method of claim 15, further comprising removing the multiple articles of personal equipment from the drying rack and disassembling the drying rack. 